Plane Travel with 8 mo and 22mo

[MommyMoulton]

OK ladies.. I have read all the tips and tricks I could find online and on the BW site.... I need all the help I can get.

Short Week Vacation from Ontario to Newfoundland to visit family. Heres the details:

Depart Ontario at 425pm arrive 8pm NFLD

DD 8mo is on a great routine... normally eats at 4pm, I presume she wont have her pm nap until late on flight day due to too much excitement... hopefully the bottle on the way up in the air will put her to sleep.
DS 22mo is currently a big sleep battle boy... so I figure he will NOT nap as airport etc much too exciting. So either he will pass out on the plane or be OS but will crash on the drive to my families house in NFLD.

While away I just plan on going with the flow, attempting at least 2 proper naps for DD and am and a pm. DS I will be winging it day by day... maybe a few no nap days, maybe a few car nap days etc.


...Preplanning on giving both DD and DS Gravol for the plane, and likely again when we take the boat to visit family over the trip. I also intend on giving DS a sucker to help with his ears popping since he cant chew gum. I have already started making lists of what to pack for checked luggage. I have been sure to back DDs woombie, baby monitor and jolly jumper. (I have a playpen and high chair from family already in NFLD waiting). For DS I didn't really pack anything except clothes. I will only be packing enough diapers and baby food to last the first 12hours, I will get that stuff from the local grocery store to save space in my luggage.

Now I have read copious amounts of stuff from the airline about what I can check and cant check for free. I know that I get one piece of luggage, and so does each child. I hope that I will only bring 2 suitcases. Which leaves one car seat as the 3rd piece..... I had heard rumors that car seats are free checked baggage can anyone verify?  I also read that I and each child can have one piece of carry on and a diaper bag per child. I hope to pack my diaper bag light. Then 2 carry ons with toys and snacks to entertain kids. What do I priority pack in these bags? I want as little as possible to pack.

I will also be bringing my sit & stand stroller to use throughout the airport and take to the gate. I am not sure whether it will be too big or not. I may have to bring my smaller stroller and my infant carrier for DD. Anyone have experience?

Please any tips would be so helpful.
MM

[PaulsMom]

Oh, lots of fun flying with two!

Car seats are free to check so no worries there but you do need to figure out how you will get them from bagage claim and to your car upon your return.  Hard to do when you are on your own.  You can bring meds on board.  I usually bring gravol and tylenol.

For DS, I would get him to carry his own back pack with one change of clothes (in a ziplock bag) plus his own toys.  You can bring on two carryons.  On my last flight I brought a carrier so I put DD in the carrier just prior to boarding, left the stroller on the jetway and carried on a back pack plus my boppy pillow.  DS had his back pack with his own stuff.

I used a backpack as my diaper bag.  I had a smaller bag with just wipes, a few diapers and my bag-it for dirty diapers.  I would take the smaller bag to the washroom for diaper changes as there is never enough room in an airplane lav for you, the baby and the diaper bag!  Pack changes of clothes in ziplock bags so if there are any messes, just put the dirty clothes in the ziplock. 

Wrt Food, you are lucky because you can bring on baby food and bottles.  For DS pack non sticky finger foods, same for V.  By the way, you may not be able to bottle feed for the actual take off and landing as they want you to hold the baby, facing you.  I never had too much of a problem with ears unless they were sick.

Wrt toys and entertainment - for V, she won't need too much as the first time on the plane is pretty exciting.  May be a few things to teeth on. For ds, colouring books, play dough, videos are all great.  When my ds was that young, I tried to not llet him bring toys that were too small as they get dropped on the floor and are hard to find.

Oh, if you can get a cares harness for ds that is great. 

Lastly, once I get onto the plane, I take out the diaper bag, the toy bag and something for ds and put it in the seat pockets. I also make sure I have the air sick bag handy.  Yes, I have had ds get sick on me one hour into a 5 hour flight.  Don't be shy about asking flight attendants for help.

Safe travels!

[*Ali*]

Be careful how much baby food you take in hand luggage as here at least they can make you open and taste it which may mean it is no good by the time you need it. I would only take what you need on board and check the rest.

Maybe it varies from airline/country but we never had any restrictions on any of the 6 flights my kids have been on with regards to holding baby in a particular way. In fact they encouraged us to feed to help with ears so I BF mine in a normal craddle hold.

Why are you giving Gravol? Do they get travel sick? I thought they had to be 2yo for that no?

[Shdef]

Buy new toys for both of them (we go to Charity shops before flying and buy stuff there, really cheap) and have a surprise bag ready for when they start whining. Also, small fingerfood and lollipops are good. For DD, I would not bank on a nap, Scotty never napped on a plane. I'd push the first nap later so that she will nap then, or earlier, so she will nap in the buggy just before going on the plane, whatever works. 8 month olds are too curious to nap on planes and the noises are completely different.

[aisling]

Just a warning on Gravol;  Children under 2 it is not recommended, please talk to your doctor. Although, to quote my GF's doctor when she asked about travelling with her LO's and giving them gravol, her doc said: ""Why would you want to drug your child?" Also, it can have terrible or reverse effects on people, have they had it before?  My mum was given this as an anti nausea med and it did the opposite for her, kept her awake and feel sick. My SIL took some before her first time travelling on a plane whilst she was at the gate to time it well to sleep on the plane.  Her plane was then delayed.  By the time they did board, she was so out of it, they had to bring her on to the plane in a wheel chair! She said she would never ever take it again, she felt like she OD"d!  I believe you are in the medical field and are well aware, but wanted to share. Please check with your pediatrician.

Strollers and carseats (free) you bring up to the check in desk and they give it a special tag right there, you then take with you to the gate and then on to the plane and they put it in the hold, so it is there when you get off the plane same like they do with wheelchairs.

If you go to your airline's website, all the info on baggage etc. is clearly spelled out.

Hope the trip goes well.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

reverse effects on people

yes, this is so true...my kids haven't had gravol, but they get hyper from benadryl, which is not "supposed" to happen. 

[michaeljacknnugg]

I think it's dependent on the airline, but when we went with an under 2 we were told we didn't have hand luggage allowance for him as we hadn't paid for a seat. It would be well worth checking that one out.

[Shdef]

I think it's dependent on the airline, but when we went with an under 2 we were told we didn't have hand luggage allowance for him as we hadn't paid for a seat. It would be well worth checking that one out.

Ryanair told us exactly that, too.

[*Ali*]

Ryan air don't give anything for free! Monarch gave us 10kg free checking allowance for a free infant though and either a buggy or carseat to check in. Definitely depends on the airline so essential to check.
I'd also think about how you will carry all these bags and kids so don't take too much.